


Monsters in the Dark

by JustFicThings



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-04-28 11:09:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5088437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustFicThings/pseuds/JustFicThings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spoiled millionaire Carmilla Karnstein is affected in ways that she would never have imagined when her mother dies, leaving behind an inheritance - and a box of things from her late father. Detective Danny Lawrence is struggling to find a lead on the cold case of her parents' murder case when their worlds collide.</p><p>Vigilante!AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Carmilla emerged from the black town car, stepping onto the cemetery grass. It was far too early for her to be awake, but her mother had never really been all that considerate of her preferences.

“Boots? Really?” A gentle arm wrapped around her waist and the pair began walking.

“Not today Mattie.” Carmilla said quietly.

“I know. Come on, let’s take our seats.” The siblings walked past rows of chairs to join their brother at the front.

“Hey sis, nice to see you in the light of day for a change.” Will smirked at Carmilla.

“So help me Luce, I will make this a double funeral.”

“Both of you need to simmer down. Mother would hate to see us bickering on the day we put her to rest.” Mattie intervened, and the three of them hid grins at the ridiculousness of that statement. One of Lilita Morgan’s favorite past times was pitting them against one another for her affection.

Carmilla glanced back, scowling at how quickly the seats were filled with people ready to pay their respects. A priest stood up and began to give the usual speech, but she felt her mind wandering from the present day to flashes of her imperfect mother at various points in her life. Screaming at her for breaking an expensive vase at age 5. Smacking her across the face for interrupting an important dinner party at age 13. Refusing to let her read her father’s deathbed letter at age 18. She didn’t refocus on the funeral speech until she heard her own name.

“Lilita Morgan is survived by her three children. William Luce, Carmilla Karnstein, and her eldest, Matska Belmonde who will now say a few words in her memory.” He invited Mattie over, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before she took his place at the podium, looking at home in front of her captive audience.

“You all know that Lilita Morgan played a number of roles. The beloved CEO of Belmonde Industries, accomplished president of Luce Property Management, a loving wife, but to my siblings and me, Lilita Morgan was most of all, a wonderful and never-resting mother.”

“Does she hear herself?” Carmilla whispered to her brother. Will stifled a laugh.

“Yes, our dear never-resting mother. Always on our backs for disgracing her good name, threatening us with disownment. It was quite the time-consuming occupation for her really.”

After Mattie’s glowing – and as Carmilla was not surprised to note, tearful – speech, the three children of Lilita Morgan said their goodbyes to the distant relatives and respectful shareholders so that they could escape to her now vacant mansion.

They let themselves in and their footsteps echoed familiarly through marble entryway. Throughout remarriages and other life events, the family had always remained at the enormous manor. These hallways were the ones where Mattie taught Carmilla and Will how to most effectively hide from the nannies (Mattie preferred climbing inside suits of armor), where they all had their first kisses with childhood sweethearts, where the girls laughed as Will singed an eyebrow trying to set off fireworks, and where they all returned once a year for the holidays as adults.

Now, Mattie stationed herself behind the bar and set three glasses on the countertop. She searched through the liquor cabinets until she found the bottle of scotch that their mother had been saving for a special occasion.

“Your speech was really something Mattie.”

“Thank you William.” She grinned proudly as she poured the drinks.

“The waterworks were truly spectacular.” Carmilla nodded, picking up a glass and inhaling. “I almost believed that you were really going to miss her.”

“She taught us well.” Mattie raised her glass. “To mother.”

“To never seeing her face again.” Carmilla added. The siblings sipped their drinks in easy silence until Carmilla spoke again. “How long until the lawyers get here?”

“We have about a little while before they show up. The meeting should take a few hours at most and then we can all get back to our lives.” Mattie answered.

When they answered the door an hour later, three middle-aged men in expensive business suits were on the other side, dark briefcases in hand. The tall, balding man in the middle stepped forward and shook Mattie’s hand.

“Our condolences from the whole of Davis & Stone. Your mother was a lovely woman and her presence will be missed.”

“She was a lovely client and her money will be missed.” Will muttered to Carmilla as Mattie escorted them into the living room. After they were all settled in, the lawyers pulled out stacks of paper and began to distribute them.

“Lilita Morgan’s personal assets will be liquidated and divided evenly between the three heirs. On top of the monetary inheritance, there is the matter of additional assets to be distributed. Ms. Belmonde and Mr. Luce, upon your fathers’ deaths, your mother gained control of their companies in your stead. Ms. Karnstein, you will also receive the effects that your father left you when he passed away, as well as this property. We will discuss your proceedings individually to streamline this process.”

Carmilla slouched into a loveseat after splitting up from her siblings, robotically accepting and signing everything her lawyer set in front of her.

“Alright Ms. Karnstein, you should find your inheritance deposited into the account you specified. This is a key to a safety deposit box tied to a bank account maintained by Commissioner Karnstein at Straka National Bank that you are now the sole proprietor of. Your father left you complete access to both the funds in the account and the contents of the security deposit box. The deed to Morgan Manor is now under your name. I will go file these papers back at the office.” The man stood up and shook Carmilla’s hand. “Once again Ms. Karnstein, our deepest condolences.”


	2. Chapter 2

Straka National Bank. Carmilla peered up at the enormous tower from behind dark sunglasses, tightening her grip on the key her father had left behind. She had held onto the anger for so long, turned to drugs and partying in an effort to get back at mother and now that she was getting everything that she had wanted, she couldn’t even will herself to enter the building.

  
“Carmilla?” A well-dressed man approached her and placed one hand on the small of her back, gesturing to the doors with the other. “I knew we’d be expecting you.”

  
Carmilla stepped forward, subtly avoiding his touch. “Hello Theo, I see you went to work for daddy after school.”

  
“I know you’re hurting right now Carmilla. Losing a parent isn’t easy, and here at Straka National Bank we hope to make the grieving process as painless as possible.” He answered smoothly, ushering her into the building. If that were true, they wouldn’t have hired you she thought dourly, following him through a set of locked double doors.

  
Rows of safety deposit boxes lined the walls and Theo led Carmilla to the one she was now in possession of.

  
“You have your key?” Carmilla nodded silently and both of them slipped gleaming silver keys into the proper slots, pulling the box out of its little chamber. “I’ll leave you with the contents. Please come find me in the lobby if you have any questions or concerns. It was nice seeing you Carmilla, and again, I’m sorry for your loss.” Theo made a swift exit and she was finally alone.

  
Her father had passed away when she was six. It was hardly enough time for her to really know the man, but plenty of time to fantasize that she did. When she was eighteen and one of her mother’s many henchmen had revealed that Commissioner Karnstein had left behind a letter for his daughter, Carmilla had thrown a wild fit when her mother decided to withhold it by blackmailing her into submission. She tore through Silas City in a storm of sex and booze, resulting in multiple arrests for underage drinking and public indecency, dragging Mattie and Will through the tabloids with her. She had cooled down soon enough when their mother had threatened to disinherit all three of them and leave the family fortunes to her alma mater, Silas University.

  
That was all eight years ago. She had grown up, gone to school, started her own business. But none of that helped quell the anger that brewed restlessly inside her. Carmilla lifted the lid to the security deposit box and pulled out an envelope.

My dear Carmilla,

I am writing this letter as I stare into your bassinet, and if you are reading these words, then I have passed away. I have done many things in my time as commissioner that I know may have influenced my early death. There is no easy way to tell your daughter that you are a criminal. I have not upheld my duties as police commissioner. I have accepted bribes, covered up crimes, and ultimately caused a lot of people a lot of grief. But I want to atone for the sins I have committed against others. I am working to redeem myself so that the city will be safe for you. Should I fail, I have included a list of people and families that I have wronged so that you may look in on them. I am sorry that I am leaving you with such an atrocious legacy, but I hope that I can change that. Enclosed you will find a key to my old haunt where you will find plenty of information about me and the people that I have harmed. Hopefully you will never receive this letter. Hopefully I have successfully revealed the corruption and misdeeds that pervade our justice system. But if you are reading these words, please know that I tried to be better, to be good, for you.

With love,  
Your father

Carmilla felt her entire body go numb. In the twenty years that she had the opportunity to imagine the kind of person her father was, it had never crossed her mind that he would be as much of a disappointment as her mother. Maybe even more. She dug through the envelope, revealing a list of at least a hundred names. The names on the top looked newer, added to the list soon before his death. Walter Jefferson. Derek Stratham. Angelica Pewter. Danielle Lawrence. Just four of the many people whose lives she was supposed to… what? Fix? Carmilla Karnstein was a professional photographer, not a fairy godmother. She stuffed the envelope into her jacket and left the bank with even more anger than she’d had going in.

A week later she had crossed three people off of the commissioner’s list. No matter how hard she tried to ignore the negativity, the names were burned into her mind and every thought filled her with more rage. So she tried doing what her dad asked. Visits to Walter, Derek, and Angelica painted bleak pictures that Carmilla tried to brighten with mystery deliveries of groceries, anonymous checks, and toys for the children. None of it had helped to relieve the buildup of anger that kept flushing her system.

  
She was on the verge of burning the list and figuring out another way to escape the guilt. Perhaps a trip to Amsterdam was in order. But before she resorted to vanishing from Silas City, she decided to spend one night tailing the fourth person down.

  
Currently, she was sitting in a car, bored out of her mind waiting for Detective Danielle Lawrence to get off of a ten-hour shift. This one seemed to be doing much better than the others. Graduated the police academy at the top of her class, became the youngest detective the department had seen in years, currently seeing the police commissioner’s daughter. Her life was firing on all cylinders.

  
A lithe redheaded detective exited the precinct with her partner and Carmilla checked the photo she’d pulled up on her phone to confirm. The woman was much taller than she had expected but there was no denying that they were one and the same.

  
“Night Melanippe!”

  
“Danny, so help me god I will Taser you.” Mel replied sharply, flipping off her partner in lieu of a goodbye. Danny chuckled mirthfully and ducked into her car.

  
“Danny Lawrence…” Carmilla tasted the name on her lips. “You might be more interesting than I’d originally anticipated.” She mused as Danny drove off. “Where are you going at this hour? Your apartment is in the opposite direction…” Carmilla started her engine and trailed after the detective.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny pulled up in an alleyway and waited in her car until a door opened and a well-dressed man stumbled out. Carmilla watched as the detective silently crept out of the vehicle and startled the man as she announced her presence.

  
“Garrett Tanner? SCPD, I need to ask you a few questions.” She opened her coat jacket to reveal a badge.

  
“What’s this about?” He slurred. Danny could smell the whiskey on his breath and scowled.

  
“Twenty years ago you were being investigated for illegal gambling operations by Detectives Davidson and Lawrence. You got let off when Detective Lawrence was killed and your case was reassigned. I’m following up on that.” At that, Tanner took off in a drunken rush, stumbling onto a fire escape with Danny on his heels. Three flights up, she pinned him against the building, but before she could ask any further questions, he jerked forward, putting his hands around her neck and holding her over the railing.

  
“What are you going to do now Tanner? Murder a detective?” Danny choked out, assessing the situation as the oxygen began to seep out of her body.  
In an instant, the detective felt his hands ripped from her throat and gasped for air. Before she had time to intervene, a small, shadowy figure had immobilized him and Danny watched as his unconscious body hurtled over the fire escape.

  
“Hey, SCPD!” She managed, sprinting after her mystery rescuer. “Stop!” But by the time the detective reached solid ground, the person had disappeared into the night.

“You look like shit, Lawrence.” Detective Callis noted as her partner arrived at the station. “What happened to you last night?”

  
“Thanks Mel, I appreciate that.” Danny said, rubbing her jaw. “Didn’t get enough sleep I guess. What do we have?” Danny asked as her partner motioned to the car.

  
“Dead body at 54th and Grant. Looks like some drunk fell off a fire escape.” Danny felt the air drain out of her lungs much like it had the night before. “We’re meeting the captain at the scene.”

“Took you guys long enough! You’re missing all the fun!” The crime scene technician announced cheerfully as they gathered some particulate samples.  
“Stuff it dweeb, where’s the captain?” LaFontaine ignored Mel’s jab and pointed at a woman who was currently trying to contain her fiery red curls in a bun.

  
“Hey captain.” Danny tried to suppress any hints of nervousness in her voice. “What are you thinking?”

  
“Danny, Mel.” Captain Perry nodded at her detectives. “Are you feeling alright Danny? Do you need a cup of tea or something?” Danny shook her head and the captain continued. “We thought it was your routine drunk gets into an accident type case, but LaF found evidence of defensive wounds. Victim is a white male named Garrett Tanner. He’s been linked with The Alchemists.”

  
“The crime syndicate?” Mel said doubtfully, looking at the body.

  
“He’s been with them since his youth. We’re swabbing his hands for DNA evidence right now. If his killer is in our system, we’ll find them. This is a delicate case, detectives. The last thing we want is to start a conflict between rival gangs. I would like the state of this city to remain as normal as possible throughout our investigation.”

  
Danny rehearsed a resignation speech the entire ride back to the station. Before she took the detective’s exam, Perry had pulled her aside to give her a talk. The captain was a new officer when her dad was killed and she wanted to make sure Danny didn’t pursue the case outside of department purview. Now she’d royally mucked it all up.

Perry heard a knock on her door and waved Detective Lawrence in.

  
“What do you need Danny? There’s still the chance to take me up on that cup of tea I offered earlier.” Perry pointed to the freshly brewed pot on her desk. Danny shook her head and sighed.

  
“Captain, I have to tell you something.”

  
“Captain, we got a confession.” Mel marched into Perry’s office, interrupting Danny. “Perp’s in the interrogation room right now.”

  
“That was quick. I didn’t even know we had a suspect!” The captain looked apologetically at Danny.

  
“We’ll talk later Lawrence.” Perry and Danny made their way to the observation room and Detective Lawrence did a double take when she saw her partner start to interrogate a man whose tattoo-covered arms were practically bursting out of his black muscle tee. There was no way that this was the same person she’d seen the night before.

  
“Peter Burns. I brought your papers. Can you tell me again what happened?”

  
“It’s Pete. And I told you already. I was leaving the bar, and this asshole stumbles into me. I lost my temper; chased him up the fire escape.” The man shrugged. “Things got outta hand and I pushed him off.”

  
“Then what?”

  
“I got rid of the DNA evidence with some alcohol wipes and got the hell outta there.”

  
“Why try to cover it up if you were planning to come in and confess?”

  
“What can I say detective? I got a guilty conscience.” Danny hid the confusion on her face when Perry turned to her.

  
“Well that’s as clean a case as any. Looks like no gang involvement so we’re in the clear. What was it that you wanted to say earlier?”

  
“Oh… I don’t remember captain.” Danny lied, smothering the voice in the back of her head telling her that something was off.


	4. Chapter 4

Since the fire escape incident, Detective Lawrence had experienced the best six months of her police career. Her arrest rate was skyrocketing, petty crime had dropped, and Perry’s campaign to end organized crime was operating with great success. But none of these achievements were being celebrated in the precinct because there was a new citywide scourge taking priority. Danny leaned against her desk with her arms crossed as Police Commissioner Hollis began to speak to the station.

            “I am here today to discuss your hard work over the last six months. I have never been more proud to call myself police commissioner. But all of your accomplishments have been greatly overshadowed by the rise of vigilante justice infecting this city. This man has prevented numerous crimes and helped us put dangerous criminals behind bars, so you might be wondering why I’m still talking.” The commissioner paused. “We are not vigilantes. We are the criminal justice system and as such, we cannot condone the blatant disregard of the law. Whoever this person is, he has left a trail of bodies across the city. _Your_ city. And that is why we will be tripling our efforts to catch him and bring him to justice in the eyes of the law.”

            As the commissioner wrapped up his speech, Danny felt a nudge at her side and glanced over to find her girlfriend grinning at her. She smiled back and leaned down so Laura could give her a peck on the lips.

            “Laura, what are you doing here?” Commissioner Hollis spotted his daughter and hugged her.

            “Oh, just checking in on my two favorite people! Your speech was _very_ inspirational dad. I feel so invigorated, like I should go out and hunt for that vigilante myself.”

            “You will do no such thing!” Laura’s dad sighed as she giggled. “Sometimes I think about how much safer you would have been if you’d only stayed with journalism, honey.”

            “But being a private investigator is _much_ more lucrative, dad. It’s actually not that different than journalism anyways.” Laura smiled broadly, knowing that protesting would just lead to another lecture.

            “Alright Laura. I have to visit the other precincts, but I’ll see you at dinner.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and paused awkwardly before clapping a hand on Danny’s upper arm in acknowledgement. “Detective.” He gave her a stilted nod and turned to leave the station.

            “Hey, I think he’s warming up to me.” Detective Lawrence smiled. “Anyways, as much as I appreciate the visit, I assume you need a favor?”

            “Yeah, I’m running down a lead on this case I’m on and I could use a little tip.”

            “Laura…” Danny sighed.

            “It’s not confidential information!”

            “You know I wouldn’t give it to you if it was.”

            “I know, you’re miss ‘by the book’. That’s what Mel calls you right?” Danny swallowed the twinge of guilt she felt and sat down at her desk to turn her computer on, only to be met with a bright red screen.

            “What the hell? Hey Callis, is your computer having issues too?” Danny looked over at Mel who nodded back.

            Suddenly, a computerized voice echoed through the station. Detective Lawrence looked around and saw every screen flashing with the color of blood.

            “Hello SCPD, I hear you’ve been talking about me and I must confess I’m a little hurt. I thought that you all could use the help, considering that many of your own are not committed to the law you claim to uphold.” The screens suddenly went still and then began to display a slideshow of photos and names. “I’ve been keeping tabs on all of you and was quite surprised when I found out that almost _half_ of you fine people have been double dipping.” The surveillance photos depicted members of the precinct meeting with known criminals and receiving payouts.

            There was a split second of disturbing calm before chaos descended on the station. In the scuffle, a uniformed officer grabbed Laura before Danny could push her out of harm’s way. He stared at Detective Lawrence, daring her to make a move.

            “This is your little girlfriend isn’t it detective? She also happens to be the commissioner’s daughter, so I would think twice before trying to detain me.” None of his words fazed Danny. Before he could make a move, she had already pulled out her gun and fired straight at his forehead. As the officer fell, Laura ran into Danny’s arms and the detective could feel warm blood seeping into her shirt. Then, a much more familiar face filled the screens. _Melanippe Callis_. Danny whipped around and saw her partner fire a shot off at Detective Kirsch. She pushed Laura under her desk and sprang to her feet, cuffing Mel to a cabinet before tearing off her white button-up and wrapping up Wilson’s arm to slow the bleeding.

            After she secured her makeshift tourniquet, the havoc began to die down and Danny took stock of the damage. For the most part, the people identified as dirty cops had all been subdued, and only one or two were in the wind. With Laura at her side, she watched as ambulances arrived at the scene.

            “Thanks for the shirt L-Dog!” Kirsch ogled her as he was loaded onto a gurney. “Looks like you didn’t need it anyways.”

            “I’m going to chalk that comment up to poor judgment due to blood loss.” Danny growled in her tank top, crossing her arms angrily. Her boss shut the door of the ambulance before turning back to the precinct.

            “Captain, can I take Laura home and get her cleaned up?” Perry nodded, still brimming with rage.

            “We’ll take care of this here. But I want to see you bright and early for your statement and a good load of paperwork.”


	5. Chapter 5

Since the fire escape incident, Detective Lawrence had experienced the best six months of her police career. Her arrest rate was skyrocketing, petty crime had dropped, and Perry’s campaign to end organized crime was operating with great success. But none of these achievements were being celebrated in the precinct because there was a new citywide scourge taking priority. Danny leaned against her desk with her arms crossed as Police Commissioner Hollis began to speak to the station.

            “I am here today to discuss your hard work over the last six months. I have never been more proud to call myself police commissioner. But all of your accomplishments have been greatly overshadowed by the rise of vigilante justice infecting this city. This man has prevented numerous crimes and helped us put dangerous criminals behind bars, so you might be wondering why I’m still talking.” The commissioner paused. “We are not vigilantes. We are the criminal justice system and as such, we cannot condone the blatant disregard of the law. Whoever this person is, he has left a trail of bodies across the city. _Your_ city. And that is why we will be tripling our efforts to catch him and bring him to justice in the eyes of the law.”

            As the commissioner wrapped up his speech, Danny felt a nudge at her side and glanced over to find her girlfriend grinning at her. She smiled back and leaned down so Laura could give her a peck on the lips.

            “Laura, what are you doing here?” Commissioner Hollis spotted his daughter and hugged her.

            “Oh, just checking in on my two favorite people! Your speech was _very_ inspirational dad. I feel so invigorated, like I should go out and hunt for that vigilante myself.”

            “You will do no such thing!” Laura’s dad sighed as she giggled. “Sometimes I think about how much safer you would have been if you’d only stayed with journalism, honey.”

            “But being a private investigator is _much_ more lucrative, dad. It’s actually not that different than journalism anyways.” Laura smiled broadly, knowing that protesting would just lead to another lecture.

            “Alright Laura. I have to visit the other precincts, but I’ll see you at dinner.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and paused awkwardly before clapping a hand on Danny’s upper arm in acknowledgement. “Detective.” He gave her a stilted nod and turned to leave the station.

            “Hey, I think he’s warming up to me.” Detective Lawrence smiled. “Anyways, as much as I appreciate the visit, I assume you need a favor?”

            “Yeah, I’m running down a lead on this case I’m on and I could use a little tip.”

            “Laura…” Danny sighed.

            “It’s not confidential information!”

            “You know I wouldn’t give it to you if it was.”

            “I know, you’re miss ‘by the book’. That’s what Mel calls you right?” Danny swallowed the twinge of guilt she felt and sat down at her desk to turn her computer on, only to be met with a bright red screen.

            “What the hell? Hey Callis, is your computer having issues too?” Danny looked over at Mel who nodded back.

            Suddenly, a computerized voice echoed through the station. Detective Lawrence looked around and saw every screen flashing with the color of blood.

            “Hello SCPD, I hear you’ve been talking about me and I must confess I’m a little hurt. I thought that you all could use the help, considering that many of your own are not committed to the law you claim to uphold.” The screens suddenly went still and then began to display a slideshow of photos and names. “I’ve been keeping tabs on all of you and was quite surprised when I found out that almost _half_ of you fine people have been double dipping.” The surveillance photos depicted members of the precinct meeting with known criminals and receiving payouts.

            There was a split second of disturbing calm before chaos descended on the station. In the scuffle, a uniformed officer grabbed Laura before Danny could push her out of harm’s way. He stared at Detective Lawrence, daring her to make a move.

            “This is your little girlfriend isn’t it detective? She also happens to be the commissioner’s daughter, so I would think twice before trying to detain me.” None of his words fazed Danny. Before he could make a move, she had already pulled out her gun and fired straight at his forehead. As the officer fell, Laura ran into Danny’s arms and the detective could feel warm blood seeping into her shirt. Then, a much more familiar face filled the screens. _Melanippe Callis_. Danny whipped around and saw her partner fire a shot off at Detective Kirsch. She pushed Laura under her desk and sprang to her feet, cuffing Mel to a cabinet before tearing off her white button-up and wrapping up Wilson’s arm to slow the bleeding.

            After she secured her makeshift tourniquet, the havoc began to die down and Danny took stock of the damage. For the most part, the people identified as dirty cops had all been subdued, and only one or two were in the wind. With Laura at her side, she watched as ambulances arrived at the scene.

            “Thanks for the shirt L-Dog!” Kirsch ogled her as he was loaded onto a gurney. “Looks like you didn’t need it anyways.”

            “I’m going to chalk that comment up to poor judgment due to blood loss.” Danny growled in her tank top, crossing her arms angrily. Her boss shut the door of the ambulance before turning back to the precinct.

            “Captain, can I take Laura home and get her cleaned up?” Perry nodded, still brimming with rage.

            “We’ll take care of this here. But I want to see you bright and early for your statement and a good load of paperwork.”


	6. Chapter 6

Laura was sitting in a Danny-sized oxford shirt and drying her hair with a kitchen towel when the detective got out of the shower.

“I’ve always liked that outfit on you.” She murmured to Danny. The redhead was in the red and white baseball tee and pair of cotton pajama shorts she’d had since high school.

“Laura, we need to talk.” She ignored the compliment for the time being and pulled a chair up next to her girlfriend.

“Danny, I’m fine. I don’t need you to help me process or anything. Thank you for being my hero today.” She covered one of the detective’s hands with her one of her own.

“No hon, this is not about processing. It’s about how you almost got killed visiting me at work.” She squeezed Laura’s hand. “I don’t think you should come around the precinct anymore.” Danny exhaled as soon as she got the words out.

“What?” Laura snapped up and furrowed her brow. “Danny, I’m fine. I _didn’t_ get killed.”

“But what if I hadn’t been fast enough? Or what if I had been incapacitated?”

“If those things were true, I could have taken care of myself! Or are you forgetting that my dad, the police commissioner, had me enrolled in self defense classes since I could walk?” Laura started to raise her voice.

“How many times have I had to come get you when you’ve gotten into trouble on an investigation?”

“Excuse me? What are you saying, I should quit my job because I can’t take care of myself?” The PI was full out yelling now.

“No Laura, I’m just saying that sometimes you get into dangerous situations without thinking! Do you know how it feels to get a text that says ‘trapped in mob bar, bring backup’, or ‘stakeout went south, need getaway car ASAP’?”

“That’s the job Danny! If I’m being a nuisance, I’ll stop texting!”

“The job is what got my parents killed Laura, you know that. Which means you also know that there’s no way I would let you handle these situations by yourself. I don’t want to lose everyone I’ve ever cared about because of _the job_!”

“I guess you’re too late for that.” Laura stated quietly.

“Laura-”

“No Danny. I already have one dad to question my choices and to constantly condescend to me. I get that you just want to keep me safe, but if you didn’t want to lose me, you sure went about it the wrong way.” Laura plucked her wet clothes from where they were hanging over the detective’s kitchen sink. “I’m sorry, but it’s over.” She exited the apartment in a huff.

Danny flinched at the sound of her front door slamming shut and sank into her couch with her head in her hands. _Leave it to me to ruin the only good thing in my life._ She cursed herself when she felt hot liquid pooling in her eyes.

“Bad time?” Danny shot up at the unfamiliar voice and furiously wiped away the angry tears. When her vision cleared, she resisted the urge to laugh at the utterly ridiculous sight of womanizing socialite Carmilla Karnstein perched in her window.


End file.
